'Icesave... angry, frustrated and upset...' blog discussion

d.edna

Tony_bennett wrote: »

LloydsTSB were far from helpful, they said take it up with Icesave - ha - some hope there!

Lloyds TSB are the receiving bank, has nothing to do with them what the icelandic bank have done until it actually is received at Lloyds TSB - so why is it Lloyds TSB's fault, they can't magic funds from thin air.

Heinz

Having had the 'management' of a large inheritance thrust upon me during the past year, I came, as a true novice in the field, to this site looking for guidance.

The first piece of advice I found was to spread the risk and not to exceed £35k with any one institution/group.

The next piece of advice I found was that Icesave did not have full FSA protection and, as a result, I made a decision not to open an account with them (there were plenty of other accounts paying in excess of 6% AER).

Perhaps I benefited from the fact that I was such a novice and that it was not, strictly speaking, my money (so I was ultra-careful) but I have to say Martin's advice was clear with regard to Icesave although written well before any of the crisis began.

Tony_bennett_2

Quite right Martin, don't allow these rants. More info would be welcome when and if it can be got.

I would really like to know about the legality of holding processed payments which have already been marked as cleared in the on line accounts.

Chaps are supposed to be more or less instant arn't they?

judege

I have been a fan of Martin for about a year now, and am generally very pleased with the savings I have made as a result. But I have one slight reservation - my husband and I opened Icesave ISAs in February and January respectively, after reading Martin's savings guides. I remember first reading about the passport scheme on Martin's site AFTER we had opened our ISAs, and feeling slightly alarmed, thinking 'if I had read this earlier I might have thought twice about going with Icesave'. Now, reading Martin's blog today:
'for the last seven months, every note on the site that mentions Icesave has included a large WARNING, explaining it’s not protected like other banks due to the ‘passport exemption’ system, plus an explanation of the (then) £35,000 limit and what it means, and a big link to the spread your savings guide and last april’s Icesave: is it safe? blog.'
I think maybe I couldn't have read Martin's warning before we opened the ISAs, because it wasn't there then i.e. it seems he did feature Icesave in his guide for a time before pointing out the passport scheme problem. As to whether the Icesave website made things clear, I am not sure.

swhxd06

Once again, I cannot and will not blame ML for my investment in Icesave. It was my choice to put my money there. As for government bail outs, I am going to lose much more from my mortgage endowment policy due to the plummeting stock market. No government is going to make up THAT shortfall for me- nor is THAT ML's fault! I'll be glad to recover as much as I can from Icesave thank you very much.

Tony_bennett_2

d.edna wrote: »

Lloyds TSB are the receiving bank, has nothing to do with them what the icelandic bank have done until it actually is received at Lloyds TSB - so why is it Lloyds TSB's fault, they can't magic funds from thin air.

Lloyds are not the issue here. Of course it is not their fault but a little more customer service advice would have been welcome - stuff on Chaps etc.

dancingfairy

Disappointed that people feel the need to vent their anger at Martin. Many, many people have benefited from his advice and got themselves out of debt and taken control of their finances. Many people would otherwise not have access to anything near this level of information or even necessarily to afford it.

Obviously on this occassion it turned out to be the wrong call but then we all have the benefit of hindsight.

Also Martin makes his recommendations based on journalistic research not on individuals circumstances - I don't follow every single thing he suggests as I have my own ideas and opinions for my circumstances. It is up to everyone to apply his advice to their own situation.

Also events in recent weeks have taken everyone by surprise - who could have predicited all this turmoil.

For those that don't like Martins advice - this site is free and you are perfectly able to ignore it completely and leave everyone else alone.

What matters now is getting answers to people's questions, making representations to those who matter and helping people get their money back.

GWEPM

Martin,
Can you advise us on the procedure for reclaims? When to start the process and where to find the necessary paperwork, please.

And, despite some of the other aggressive comments that have appeared, I think the advice from this site was always sound, and there were also the clear "buyer beware" warnings. Everyone needs to make up their own mind when it comes to savings. And I also don't think that Landsbanki (Icesave) is any worse than any other bank. It is just the one that the Financial Feeding Frenzy has currently turned upon. And it is unlikely to be the last!

sjohnson57

Martin - whilst I fully appreciate your robust response to previous posts and the fact that we all make our own decisions if someone like you is not pressing Government to respond/intervene then who will? Over 300,000 people can make their views known about the handling of this when the time comes in the ballot box but in the meantime we have uncertainty, doubt about whether we are going to get anything at all back, and some who have posted here in real financial difficulties. The Icelandic Government have our money! I am sure if the UK Government were holding funds and denying access to German, French, Belgian .... and yes even Icelandic savers their Governments would be kicking and screaming at the door of No 10. We were SAVING in this institution not INVESTING in it. As late as Monday the messages on the Icesave website were saying that our savings were safe - this is lying by any standard. Anything you can do to represent the position of 300,000 UK citizens I for one will say 'thank you!'.

Paula1

MSE_Lawrence wrote: »

This is the discussion to link on the back of Martin's blog. Please read the blog first, as this discussion follows it.

Read Martin's 'Icesave... angry, frustrated and upset...' Blog.

Click reply to discuss below.

Martin I saw you on Channel 4 and heard you say that there would be one form from the FSA and that they would deal with the claim for compensation. Can you let us know please whether this just applies to those who have over the Iceland guarantee of £16000 and will therefore need to make a separate claim to FSA? I've heard a lot of talk about the 'small' savers losing out. Not sure what this means. I have £12000 in Icesave and would like to know if the FSA will act on my behalf or will I be left to deal with the Icelandic government myself?